Name changing spree in UP: Latest demand is for renaming Sultanpur to 'Kushpur'

Lucknow, Nov 14: A BJP MLA from Uttar Pradesh, Deomani Dwivedi, has now demanded that the name of Sultanpur be changed to Kushpura. This comes days after the Yogi Adityanath-led government in UP changed the names of Allahabad and Faizabad district to Prayagraj and Ayodhya, respectively.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on the eve of Diwali, announced that the name of Faizabad district would be changed to Ayodhya. The state yesterday (November 13) approved this change

Sultanpur MLA, Deomani Dwivedi said he has already submitted a proposal for the name change, said reports.

"I have proposed that the Sultanpur be changed to its original name that was Kushpur or Kushbhavanpur. I have requested that the original name of the district be restored," he said.

Kush was the name of one of the sons of Lord Rama, the other being Luv.

Opposition parties have strongly criticised the Adityanath government's move to change names of the places. According to PTI, CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy had said changing names of palces was the BJP government's ploy to cover up its failure in governance. Reddy also said that the name change reflects the BJP's anti-Muslim feelings.

Yogi government's name changing spree drew strong criticism not just from the opposition, but also from NDA ally Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP).

The name changing-spree has in fact spread to other BJP ruled states and there were speculations that Ahmedabad's name could be changed to Karnavati. Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel had made a statement hinting that he was in favour of it.

There was also a demand for the name change of Agra to Agravan. BJP MLA from North Agra, Jagan Prasad Garg, had on November 11 said, "About 5,000 years back the place was called Agravan, so it should be named that again."

BJP MLA from Sardhana, Sangeet Som had also said that Muzaffarnagar's name should be changed to Laxmi Nagar.